Routledge White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia: The Good Ol’ Aussie Bloke (Routledge Research in Gender and Society)

Spanning the disciplines of sociology, history, media and cultural studies, and popular culture, this book offers a historical exploration of Australian masculine tropes and an examination of contemporary representations of masculinity in the media. With attention to a range of thematic issues, including race, gender, sexuality, mythmaking, media representation, class, and nationality, it draws on new qualitative research and interview material to investigate the ways in which everyday Australian men take up or reject such ideas. White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia thus explores the contradictory resistance to and adoration of ideals of masculinity, forms of Othering used to differentiate the practice of "good" masculinity from that of "bad" masculinity, the relationship between heterosexuality, masculinity and Australian sporting culture as central to ideals of masculinity, and the existence of differing pressures to be masculine. As such it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in gender and sexuality, Australian studies, and contemporary popular culture. Review "In this engaging and timely book Waling draws on a range of rich data to examine historical shifts and continuities in representations of Australian masculinity, and to investigate how masculinity is currently lived and understood. Through a nuanced analysis she gives us unique insight into the contradictions and tensions of contemporary manhood." Barbara Pini, Professor of Sociology, Griffith University, Australia "Waling breathes new life into the critical study of men and masculinities with a lucid style, and, dare I say, some much needed optimism. Empirically ambitious and theoretically rich and diverse, White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia is an account that stands out in an increasingly crowded arena." Steve Roberts, Associate Professor of Sociology, Monash University, Australia "White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia is a most welcome contribution to a growing field of critical scholarship on men and masculinities. Waling’s argument for post-structural theory in the study of men and masculinities is important and will help to shape future arguments and debates." Jonathan A. Allan, Canada Research Chair in Queer Theory & Professor of English & Creative Writing, Brandon University, Canada "White Masculinity in Contemporary Australia is a wonderfully lyrical exploration of ideas about masculinity in Australia. Blending historical, cultural and sociological approaches, it shows that while traditional ideas about 'real Aussie blokes' might linger in the public mind, contemporary men's perceptions of their own masculinity are much more clear-eyed and progressive. This book is an exemplary model of how to study men, masculinities and social change." Andrew Singleton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Head of School (Research), Deakin University, Australia "The representations of white Australian masculinity and culture that Andrea Waling interrogates in this book are my world, my home, who I am. It is a welcome and thought-provoking analysis. Yet, it is a book that has value beyond Australia. The analysis and observations about the complicated situated nature of negotiating representations and the quotidian living of masculinity will ring true across settings, albeit with different details and outcomes. Waling’s insightful understanding of the process that this negotiation is becomes valuable transferable knowledge […] Waling avoids perpetuating what has become problematic typologies of masculinity. Any taxonomy of masculinity can hide the lived shifting, cross-pollinating realities of doing and performing masculinity. Waling draws on the work of Judith Butler and Erving Goffman to articulate a position that better appreciates the complicated in situ dynamism of masculinity and men’s agency. The book successfully demonstrates that complicated dynamism and agency."  Clifton Ev